On Wikipedia, editors use talk pages to debate whether/how to include associations with marginalized social groups in highly visible digital information. Despite efforts to promote social inclusion, digitally cocreated information on Wikipedia is vulnerable to marginalizing content. We study the case of Tim Cook's Wikipedia biography prior to him coming out as a member of the LGBTQ community. Editors cocreating his biography discussed at length whether/how to include information about Cook's sexual orientation. Our critical hermeneutic investigation of these discussions reveals a paradox of social inclusion. That is, efforts by activist editors to promote social inclusion at the group level may bring about the unintended consequence of marginalizing an individual. Applying critical social theories, we conclude that deference should be given to individuals over groups when collaborative decisions are made about whether to publish associations in highly visible digital information. This research highlights the complexity of governance for social inclusion online.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.